Ole Miss transfers ruled immediately eligible at new schools

Deontay Anderson was a key starter for Ole Miss in 2016. He redshirted in 2017. (Getty)

It appears the NCAA is doing the right thing for players transferring from Ole Miss’ football team.

The NCAA has approved immediate eligibility waivers for five other players seeking to leave the team following the 2017 season. Quarterback Shea Patterson’s request for immediate eligibility at Michigan was previously approved and Patterson will compete to be the Wolverines’ starting quarterback in 2018.

Why

Ole Miss is facing a bowl ban and scholarship reductions in 2018 after the NCAA penalized the school after an investigation into impermissible benefits. The school served a self-imposed bowl ban in 2017 after coach Hugh Freeze resigned in the summer. The self-imposed penalty wasn’t enough for the NCAA, which tacked on another season.

Ole Miss was cooperative with Michigan while the Wolverines worked to secure Patterson’s immediate eligibility and there’s no reason to assume the school wasn’t with other players looking to play right away. NCAA transfer rules dictate that players must sit out a year if they’re an undergraduate transfer. If a player transferring from Ole Miss wants to play in 2018, he must apply for a waiver with the NCAA.

Waivers could soon be a moot point

A waiver may not be necessary the next time players want to transfer from a school facing NCAA sanctions. The NCAA is looking at ways to restructure its transfer rules and one proposal from Big 12 schools would give players the ability to transfer immediately if their coach left for a new school or was fired or the school was sanctioned by the NCAA.

Anderson sat out the 2017 football season as a redshirt in anticipation of a transfer. He was a top recruit in Ole Miss’ class of 2016 and was a starter in the defensive backfield as a freshman. He played high school football with D’Eriq King, Houston’s starting quarterback at the end of the 2017 season.